STAUNTON - A Grottoes man convicted multiple times for impersonating a firefighter went to court Tuesday in Staunton and argued he should be allowed to equip his truck with a flashing light and CB radio, and said it was all for a new business venture.

Davis has convictions in all three area jurisdictions — Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County — for impersonating a firefighter.

Earlier this year, Davis, 28, lobbied to be allowed to operate a 1979 antique fire engine for parades and car shows, court records show. "The firetruck is too old and outdated to be mistaken as a current in-service firetruck," he said in a motion, which was denied in May.

In the summer of 2013, Davis managed to trick the Swoope Volunteer Fire Company into believing he was a firefighter for Augusta County Fire-Rescue, according to evidence at his trial.

While dating a woman who was a Swoope volunteer, Davis talked his way onto a truck during a fire run to the Manchester Apartments just outside of Staunton near the mall. But without his firefighting gear, Davis was told to stay on the truck with a junior firefighter while other members of Swoope checked the apartment complex for gas leaks, evidence showed.

As residents of the apartment tried to jockey their vehicles away from the scene, Davis said the firetruck was partially blocking traffic. He drove the truck, valued at about $500,000, roughly 100 feet, parking it next to another firetruck at the scene, according to testimony.

He eventually pleaded guilty to impersonating a firefighter and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

While living in Staunton, and still under investigation for the Augusta County incident, Davis told an off-duty Virginia State Police trooper that he was a county firefighter.

Authorities would later learn his vehicle was outfitted with flashing lights in the grill and on the dashboard, and that Davis often wore the gear of a firefighter. A search of his apartment turned up equipment associated with firefighting, as well as firefighting insignia, evidence showed. He pleaded guilty in Staunton to two charges of impersonating a fireman.

Also in 2013, Davis was accused of masquerading as a fire department medical staffer at a North Bayard Avenue home in Waynesboro, where he tried to assist a woman who was suffering from abdominal pains, police said. In that case he was convicted on an impersonation charge as well.

On Tuesday, representing himself in court, Davis argued he should be allowed to outfit his pickup truck with an amber-colored flashing light and a CB radio. The truck, he said, is being used for a construction business he started in October.

But Jeff Gaines, Staunton's chief deputy commonwealth's attorney, noted that a probation officer found the light and CB affixed to Davis' truck prior to him starting the construction business. Gaines also said a hose, a hose reel and a water pump were found in the bed of the truck.

Judge Charles Ricketts III ruled that Davis could not outfit the pickup with the CB or flashing lights.

"This is just setting you up to have problems," the judge said. "This is too close to what you're supposed to not be doing."

Court records indicate Davis has a Jan. 17 hearing on two charges of probation violation.